Sanford Nelson sounds like bad news for Eastern Market

**Packman41** · April-22-19, 08:32 PM

Sanford Nelson - like father, like son. Dad taught him all about real estate investing.

Like the $19.05 million the Nelsons lost for the State of Michigan Retirement System on the Raleigh Movie Studio in Pontiac. https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits...pontiac-studio

Junior attended the Cannes Film Festival one year and told his dad that Michigan's film incentive program was the talk of the industry's mover and shakers. So, somehow, dad got the State Pension Fund to guarantee the bond financing to the tune of $18 million. Trouble was that dad and his pals never made a debt service payment on the bonds, so the State had to pay all the interest payments and principal payment when the bonds defaulted.

Their reputation of screwing over people is well known. Just ask the state pension fund.

But not to worry, you taxpayers will kick in more to make up for what he stole.

**Honky Tonk** · April-22-19, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by Packman41

Sanford Nelson - like father, like son. Dad taught him all about real estate investing.

Like the $19.05 million the Nelsons lost for the State of Michigan Retirement System on the Raleigh Movie Studio in Pontiac. https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits...pontiac-studio

Junior attended the Cannes Film Festival one year and told his dad that Michigan's film incentive program was the talk of the industry's mover and shakers. So, somehow, dad got the State Pension Fund to guarantee the bond financing to the tune of $18 million. Trouble was that dad and his pals never made a debt service payment on the bonds, so the State had to pay all the interest payments and principal payment when the bonds defaulted.

Their reputation of screwing over people is well known. Just ask the state pension fund.

But not to worry, you taxpayers will kick in more to make up for what he stole.

Well I don't think he stole it alone. Why would the State back an industry they knew was going to be shut down, or why would Snyder shut down an industry he new the State was backing? Something doesn't seem right.

**archfan** · April-23-19, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Well I don't think he stole it alone. Why would the State back an industry they knew was going to be shut down, or why would Snyder shut down an industry he new the State was backing? Something doesn't seem right.

It mostly sounds like they were ticked the state cancelled film credits they were counting on to attract movies. They knew they weren't on the hook, so they stopped paying.

**Packman41** · April-23-19, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Well I don't think he stole it alone. Why would the State back an industry they knew was going to be shut down, or why would Snyder shut down an industry he new the State was backing? Something doesn't seem right.

Nothing was going right with the deal.

If you noticed in the MT article, Louis Schimmel [[then Pontiac’s emergency manager) and a former municipal bond analyst, told MT pension funds should only invest in conservative deals — not in "fly-by-the-night" opportunities, "of which the film industry has to be one of the worst."

This same loan guarantee scheme cost the two City of Detroit pension funds a combined $24 million when their guarantees on the Book Cadillac loans went sour – an amount they can never recover.

In answer to these screw-ups the state amended [[in 2014) to amend existing law and prohibit Michigan public pension funds from making such guarantees.